Lawmakers Skewer Big Gov’t In ‘Little Book’

House Repubican leaders, led by Rep. John Boehner (Ohio), have penned a little book on all the ways the federal government squanders the hard-earned money of its citizens. (See “The Little Book of Big Government“) The little book relies extensively on CEI’s 10,000 Commandments report on the cost of government.

But the little book also comes up with some fine examples of ridiculous expenditures –

Pentagon Pays $998,798 to Ship Two 19-Cent Washers:
“A small South Carolina parts supplier collected about $20.5
million over six years from the Pentagon for fraudulent shipping
costs, including $998,798 for sending two 19-cent washers to an
Army base in Texas, U.S. officials said.” (2)

Department of Agriculture Sends 170,000 Dead Farmers $1.1
Billion:
“A GAO audit found that USDA has not been conducting the
necessary checks to ensure subsidy payments were legitimate.” As
a result, 170,000 deceased farmers collected $1.1 billion.(3